Trinity won their first league game of the season in five starts on Saturday. This was a highly motivated performance on Saturday by the students after some close losses in the previous weeks.
Due to adverse wet weather conditions, the game was moved to Santry on the recently widened pitch there.
Trinity started in fine style boldly taking the game to Greystones with ball in hand, The students played their best rugby in the first 25 minutes with forwards and backs linking to stretch the visitors all over the field.
The first score came in the fifth minute from a line out close in Trinity forwards showed impressive power when they drove the visitors back over their line for a try which hooker Mark Murdock scored.
Trinity followed this up with some superb running rugby and it was only a matter of time when after some quick recycling with explosive prop James Gethings particularly prominent, captain and flanker Johnny Iliff split the Greystones defence with a devastating burst of speed to score by the posts. 12-0 up after 20 minutes Trinity kept attacking, and another superb movement featuring several players resulted in left wing Shane Hanratty being bundled into touch three metres short of the line by the scrambling Greystones defence. Trinity missed two penalty kicks which would surely have seen them out of sight in the opening quarter.
Greystones inevitably came back and experienced out half Barry Lynn took a nice opportunity to slice through the home defence to score against the run of play just on half time to put his team back in the game.
In the second half “Stones” did launch some attacks but the Trinity defence swarmed all over them and kept them in their own half. In the final quarter Trinity upped their game and turned the screw on the visitors. Trinity full back Andy Wallace kicked two penalties to put the students more than one score ahead 18-7. With five minutes to go inside centre Conor Mills was up to support his captain Johnny Iliff to score by the posts after the home side had camped on the Greystones line for what seemed a considerable amount of time.
After this score Trinity were intent on attacking from everywhere in the quest for a bonus point for scoring four tries. But a loose pass resulted in Greystones turning them over close to the Trinity goal line and the County Wicklow team scored a consolation try in the last play of the game.
This was a much deserved win for the students. Who now take a two week break from AIBL action.
